Drug abuse has increased in Egypt during the past five years, with the highest addiction rate in Cairo, according to a conference held Tuesday by the General Secretariat of Mental Health.
The drug abuse index for the over-15 age group jumped from 6.4 to 30 percent for the first time ever, and the addiction rate increased from 6.4 to 7 percent. The earliest age of drug addiction went down to 10 years old.
According to research presented at the conference that was conducted by the National Addiction Center in 2011, there is a relationship between drug use and the untrained technical workforce, as well as poor education.
The research, which included 40,000 people in 26 governorates, also demonstrated that the absence of either parent from the home increased the incidence of drug use.
Addiction rate tables, according to the research, showed that 12,059 of those researched were drug users — 32 percent. Another 6,824 people, 17 percent, also worked while under the influence of drugs.
Ninety-three percent of those surveyed who said they used drugs used hashish, while 22 percent used alcohol, 11 percent used pharmaceutical drugs, 7 percent used opium, 5 percent used cocaine and amphetamines, and 0.13 percent used manufactured materials and volatile solvents.
